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Jacob Fox, {hardware} author
This week I’ve been: Latency testing a 320 Hz monitor, making an attempt to climb up CS2 Premier ranks, and looking out into data concept.
If you have been on this planet so long as I’ve, you would possibly keep in mind the sentiment that your eyes cannot see above 60 fps. At least, that is what console players appeared to inform themselves as soon as the PC gaming scene moved on. But really utilizing 120 Hz or 144 Hz shortly put an finish to that delusion.
Something about it will need to have sunk into my unconscious, although, as a result of till not too long ago, I caught to 144 Hz screens ever since I received my palms on one round 2014. It’s as if I’d accepted that whereas 60 Hz is not the restrict, maybe 144 Hz is—or, extra realistically, it is as if I’d assumed that diminishing returns would possibly kick in quickly thereafter.
I’ve since found that is incorrect. It could be true should you’re kicking again in a third-person RPG, and it is definitely true should you’re not hitting north of 144 fps in-game. But as I’ve found not too long ago, for aggressive FPS gaming, ultra-high refresh charges are genuinely incredible and significantly better than sticking at 144 Hz or 165 Hz.
There is fact to the concept there are diminishing returns to upping your refresh charge, however they do not diminish as drastically or as shortly as lots of people appear to assume they do. I’d say 360 Hz is the candy spot earlier than actual diminishing returns begin to kick in, but it surely’s additionally slightly extra sophisticated than that.
I first found this when testing the Zowie XL2586X+. Zowie monitors are the most popular for tactical FPS esports execs, for a couple of foremost causes. First, there’s the truth that huge tournaments usually use them throughout the board, so it is smart to apply with them—that is one motive for sticking to a 24/25-inch 1080p monitor, too, by the way in which.
Apart from that very pragmatic motive, although, there’s the truth that these screens have ultra-high refresh charges, panels and color profiles which might be tailor-made to in style esports titles, and DyAc 2 anti-blur tech.
Of all of those components, although, I’ve discovered that having a excessive refresh charge is a very powerful, for my part. Which is nice information as a result of it opens the sphere to a complete load extra screens than simply Zowie ones with DyAc 2.
I’ve not too long ago been impressed, as an illustration, by the $250 Alienware AW2525HM, which has a 320 Hz refresh charge. DyAc 2 and better-tailored panels do give Zowie screens the sting, however for my cash, so long as a panel is usually correct and clear, I’d take a less expensive one with a equally excessive refresh charge.
The query then is: What refresh charge do you want?
One reply to that is, ‘As excessive of a refresh charge as you may afford.’ Another reply is 240 Hz, as a result of most mavens use both 240 Hz or 360 Hz Zowie screens. Both of those solutions are true in their very own manner, however neither is totally informative.
With each the 600 Hz Zowie and 320 Hz Alienware, I spent a number of time swapping between completely different refresh charges and testing issues out in Counter-Strike. I got here out the opposite finish of this realising these foremost issues:
- The bounce from 144 Hz to 240 Hz offers a really noticeable enchancment within the gameplay expertise and the way nicely I play.
- The bounce from 240 Hz to 320/360 Hz offers a sufficiently big enchancment to gameplay expertise that I believe it might be price paying further for, however this enchancment does not translate to creating me play any higher.
- Beyond 320/360 Hz, growing to (say) 600 Hz does really feel higher, however the distinction is not as huge as from 240–360 and is nowhere close to as huge as from 144–240, and it does not make me play any higher.
In addition to only seeing how completely different refresh charges really really feel in apply whereas taking part in CS2, I additionally used an Nvidia Latency and Display Analysis Tool (LDAT) to check real-world response instances—ie, the end-to-end latency between clicking and having your gun’s muzzle flash seem on-screen. The muzzle flash is decrease down on the display screen, which implies (given how screens refresh from high to backside) latency can be measured larger than in the direction of the highest, however what’s necessary right here is the comparability between the numbers.
As you may see, whenever you’re utilizing a extremely good monitor, there’s little or no in it. These sub-millisecond variations are all inside a margin of error, as is made clear by the precise, non-averaged check outcomes. I did 150+ exams at every refresh charge, and there was usually variation of some ms between completely different ones on the identical refresh charge.
In apply, which means generally clicking at 600 Hz will trigger the corresponding on-screen impact slower than it’ll at 144 Hz, although as a rule the other can be true, however not by a lot.
What made extra of a distinction was whether or not the body charge was saved capped or uncapped. I examined this on the Alienware monitor, evaluating 144 Hz and 320 Hz, and located that this had a extra particular impact on end-to-end latency, although once more the distinction was small and possibly imperceptible in apply.
Note that the outcomes are the identical whether or not VRR (FreeSync Premium) was enabled or disabled. VRR solely kicks in when body charges are under your refresh charge, however even with body charges capped so it might take impact, it did not change latency.
Here are the 2 foremost takeaways from this:
- It’s higher to have your body charge uncapped in case your system can churn out frames larger than your refresh charge, as this will decrease your response time.
- If your system cannot produce a body charge larger than your refresh charge, you would possibly as nicely cap it just under and allow VRR to benefit from zero display screen tears.
There are, after all, caveats to the entire above. For one, you should not ignore variations between panels: if it is an OLED, it’ll have an ultra-low response time, if it is a VA, it’ll possible have the next one, and if it is an IPS, it’ll very a lot depend upon the panel.
You additionally should not ignore variations between individuals. A youthful professional gamer would possibly, as an illustration, be capable of derive extra of an precise profit to how nicely they play by stepping up from 240 Hz to 360 Hz, the place I, as a 31-year-old non-pro, can not.
And most likely the most important caveat is that the entire above is redundant in case your system cannot pump out sufficient frames to maintain up along with your refresh charge. It’s additionally irrelevant should you primarily play informal video games and do not care a lot about having the snappiest response time and clearest view of enemies in movement. I do not significantly look after a lot above 144 Hz if I’m sitting again with a controller in a third-person shooter, as an illustration.
Ultimately, although, I believe most people who find themselves into aggressive shooters can be just like me in how they’re prone to understand variations between excessive refresh charges. For my cash, I believe 360 Hz is the candy spot earlier than diminishing returns kick in, not solely by way of how a lot it helps you play nicely but in addition how nice it feels to expertise. 240 Hz is not a lot worse, although, and if I had been on a strict price range, that may be what I’d go for—however no decrease. 144 Hz and 165 Hz are definitely removed from the restrict earlier than important diminishing returns kick in.

Best gaming screens 2026
This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its authentic location you may go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-monitors/after-gaming-on-pro-level-panels-i-can-tell-you-now-that-360-hz-is-the-sweet-spot-for-gaming-monitors/
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